


Hat

by TwelveUnitsShy



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Cowboy Hats, I wrote it so long ago that I don't really remember, M/M, Romance, grown men crushes, silly ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-11-22 23:19:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11390502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwelveUnitsShy/pseuds/TwelveUnitsShy
Summary: Hanzo has a theory about McCree's hat.  (Symmetra is kind of a constant, but the other characters are basically just mentioned in passing.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was intended to be a oneshot, but then I ruined it and made it 10 chapters long. Enjoy!

There was an obvious difference, at least to Hanzo, between 'the man who wore the cowboy hat' and 'the man named Jesse McCree'. Had anyone else taken notice of the fact that there seemed to be an instantaneous transformation between the confident, charming man and the quiet, awkward gentleman? Surely the others knew. It was as plain as day. But that didn't make it any less interesting to watch.

A simple accessory altering the personality in such a way. Astonishing. Hanzo could only watch the taller man as he interacted with his teammates. McCree was all smirks and swagger when he donned that hat.

But now, as Hanzo was sitting and quietly restringing his bow, the taller man called to him from the rest of the group. "Shimada, there ya are!" And there he was, jogging over and removing his hat just as he arrived.

The smirk he'd worn earlier became softer, as did his voice. Curious.

"Whatcha doin' all by yerself over here?" the cowboy asked.

Hanzo didn't answer. He simply chuckled and went on with what he was doing. Yes, this was definitely Jesse McCree and not 'the man who wore the cowboy hat'.

"Ya know, yer free to join us if you'd like. Ya don't hafta sit all alone," McCree said.

The cowboy spoke gently and when Hanzo looked up, he glimpsed McCree fiddling clumsily with his hat. He'd seen McCree in combat and those hands were far from clumsy. Was it because he'd taken the hat off?

After a long silence, Hanzo finally responded, "I prefer the quiet. It helps me focus on the task at hand."

Thinking he'd put an end to the conversation and that McCree would go away, Hanzo went back to stringing his bow. Strangely enough, however, the bowman noticed that not only did McCree not leave, but the cowboy actually took a seat beside him and started watching what he was doing.

"Ya don't hafta be alone to have quiet," McCree whispered.

Hanzo had nothing to say in response. The smaller man didn't mind having an audience. McCree seemed interested in what he was doing and he was being quiet, so Hanzo continued.

 

later....

Hanzo's theory about McCree's hat had bothered him for the rest of the day. Why had he never heard anyone speak of it? Had no one else really noticed? There was one person to whom he could speak who had the same keen sense of observation that he had....

"McCree's hat?" Symmetra asked as she stood in the hallway in front of the Japanese man. She chuckled. "What is it? Do you believe it to be the source of his power or something?"

Hanzo didn't appreciate being laughed at, but he ignored it. "I believe it may be the source of his confidence. It's like he is a completely different person without it."

Symmetra shook her head. "I doubt it. Besides, he takes his hat off often enough and I have seen no change in his personality as a result. The only time I see a change in his personality is when he is around you."

Hanzo thought for a moment and squinted his eyes in confusion.

"Surely you have noticed that he behaves differently around you. Perhaps it is because of your cultural background, but it is not my place to speculate," Symmetra went on.

It was pretty obvious that she'd finished saying what she had to say because she simply turned and walked away. If what she had said was true, maybe Hanzo didn't have the keen sense of observation he thought he had.


	2. Chapter 2

Hanzo spotted McCree sitting by himself at one of the tables that was set up outside. The cowboy's hat was placed on the table and he appeared to be writing something in a notebook.

It was already unusual to see the gunslinger alone, but Hanzo began to realize that he really didn't know anything about the man. What was he doing out here by himself? And what could he be writing in that notebook?

Against his better judgment, Hanzo allowed his curiosity to carry him to McCree's side. The bowman stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say. Thankfully, the tanned man didn't seem to notice him standing there in a stupor. He didn't really have anything to say to the cowboy. It wasn't as if they were close and as he'd already discovered, the two barely knew each other.

But after standing there for a while, Hanzo started to feel like a creep, a weirdo. He had to say something, even if only something simple.

"Hello, McCree."

The gunslinger appeared a bit startled, so he must not have noticed Hanzo standing there. He closed his notebook and looked up at the archer. "Hey, Shimada."

That probably would have been the extent of their conversation if Hanzo didn't come up with something fast. He wasn't even sure why he'd gone over to bother the man in the first place and now he was desperate to find a reason to be there.

"What are you doing all by yourself out here?" Hanzo asked. Surely it was a valid and logical question.

A gentle smile tugged at McCree's lips. "That's what I usually ask you. Now yer the one askin' me."

"True. But usually, you are surrounded by friends. It is rare to see you alone."

McCree nodded and smiled completely. "Yer right. But I felt like havin' a li'l quiet time."

It was at that point that Hanzo decided that he was bothering the cowboy. "Oh. Apologies. I should go." As he turned to leave, he felt a hand around his wrist.

"But like I always say," McCree added, "ya don't hafta be alone to have quiet."

Hanzo was a little surprised at how long McCree held onto his wrist before he let go. Perhaps the gunslinger really wanted him to stay. "Am I not interrupting whatever you were doing there?" the shorter man asked, pointing to McCree's notebook.

The cowboy looked at his notebook, then back at Hanzo. "That? That's just a hobby. Nothin' important."

That statement piqued Hanzo's curiosity again. He finally sat across from McCree and glanced at the notebook one more time.

"It's just poetry. My sorry attempt at poetry anyways," McCree explained.

Hanzo was glad that he didn't have to ask about it himself, but now he was even more curious. "You write poetry?" It was a stupid question, but it was so unexpected to hear that he had to ask anyway.

The gunman chuckled. "I'm gonna hafta say no. That's just what I call it."

Hanzo wanted to ask if he could take a look at it, but they didn't really know each other that well. Maybe one day if they got to know each other better, McCree would let him see that notebook of poetry.


	3. Chapter 3

So, aside from his gregarious nature when in a group setting and his awkward nature when he wasn't wearing his hat, McCree had a poetic side. Hanzo was convinced that McCree's poetry was more than he made of it because instead of using the wide array of technology that existed these days, the cowboy was writing using a pen and paper. No one really did that anymore.

Hanzo decided that the best way to get to know more about the cowboy without asking him anything directly would be to listen in on one of McCree's group chats. It would give him the advantage once they started getting to know each other.

The archer decided that stealth would be more beneficial than a straight-forward approach. He would have to listen in on the group without giving away his presence. He would've felt guilty about listening without their knowledge, but they always spoke loudly enough that any random passerby who cared to know what they were talking about could hear them.

Wouldn't he be branded a stalker if anyone found out? Of course he would. He would just have to be careful that no one did find out about what he was doing. Simple enough.

The group consisted of Lena Oxton, Reinhardt Wilhelm, Dr. Angela Ziegler, and Torbjorn Lindholm. They could be considered some of the more talkative of everyone. But as Hanzo listened, he found that their conversation consisted mainly of useless jibber jabber. Nothing meaningful or personal at all. So then, why was McCree always with them? He didn't seem like the type for meaningless conversation. He wrote poetry, for goodness sake.

Then again, what did Hanzo know? He'd already come to the conclusion that he didn't know the gunslinger very well. Maybe the cowboy preferred meaningless, shallow conversation and jokes.

And it wasn't like they did this for a short time. They all chatted sometimes for hours on end about absolutely nothing. Curious.

 

-later-

 

Having combined his theory with Symmetra's, Hanzo came to the conclusion that McCree had a healthy respect for cultural diversity and as a sign of that respect would remove his hat in Hanzo's presence. Also as a sign of that respect would therefore adapt his speech and behavior to match. Simple enough. And the gunman probably just seemed awkward because there usually weren't any other people around when the two of them were together.

So then, why was Hanzo still so troubled? Why wasn't he able to leave well enough alone? Why wasn't this theory satisfactory? He had input from what he considered to be two of the greatest minds among their group, his and Vaswani's. What more could he ask?

Hanzo sat in his room, attempting to meditate. Unfortunately, these questions plagued him too much to concentrate. What was bothering him about the whole situation really? It was the best theory he could formulate from what he currently knew.

That was the problem! He didn't have all the facts! The indirect approach had borne no fruit, so the bowman would have to be more direct. The only way to get those facts would be to ask the man himself.

Meditation: failed.

McCree could normally be found where the biggest group was gathered. Hanzo personally preferred solitude, so he knew exactly which places to avoid. And he was right this time. There was McCree, standing and chatting with the same group as last time.

As usual, the taller man came to him, that confident smirk transforming into a genuine smile as he removed his hat.

"Shimada. Come join us," the cowboy said.

McCree always wanted Hanzo to join the group for one reason or another. After finding out what the content of their conversations was, the shorter man had to wonder why McCree thought he would want to join them.

"Actually, I came to talk to you. Privately, please," Hanzo requested.

McCree's smile seemed to brighten. "Well, now. I'm usually the one who approaches you. It's nice to see that yer approachin' me these days. Twice in a row, even. Ain't I lucky?"

"I beg your pardon?" Hanzo asked, confused by McCree's statement.

"This friendship was startin' to feel a li'l one-sided," McCree went on.

Friendship? Were they friends?

The cowboy must have noticed the confused look on Hanzo's face. "Yer usually by yerself. I figured you could use a friend," McCree added.

Hanzo chuckled to himself. So that was it. The answer was so simple, so obvious that he couldn't see it. McCree was making an attempt at being his friend.

"Though I've heard that you and Vaswani are seen together a lot. There's rumors goin' 'round about you two," McCree added with a grin.

The shorter man wasn't sure which to address first: his and Symmetra's 'friendship' or the fact that he'd come to talk to McCree, yet McCree was doing all the talking.

"Ya've always seemed like kind of a loner, but yer lucky to be so close to someone like her," McCree rambled. "I gotta admit, I'm kinda jealous."

The cowboy was still talking. This went against Hanzo's hat theory. McCree seemed to become chattier and chattier even though he was standing there with his hat in his hands. Perhaps Symmetra's theory was more correct than his own. Or perhaps he just wanted to be right and for the architect to be wrong.

"We are not that close," Hanzo finally said.

"So, yer not together?"

"We are not 'together'."

McCree nodded thoughtfully. "I see."

The two stood quietly for a moment before McCree took it upon himself to break the silence. "So, ya wanted to talk to me?" the gunslinger asked.

They were finally back to the point of why Hanzo had set out to find McCree. Unfortunately, the Japanese man wasn't sure how this conversation should go. Should he simply ask McCree why he behaved differently around him? And did he already have the answer now that he found out that McCree wanted them to be friends?

"I...," Hanzo began. When he looked up and saw how eagerly McCree awaited this 'talk', Hanzo froze. The bowman was already unsure of what to say, but the added pressure of having McCree waiting there had stunned him.

Hanzo had always believed himself to be an eloquent speaker in both English and Japanese, but now his words failed him. It was an embarrassment to be at a loss for words, so much so that the bowman could feel his cheeks and ears become warm.

"I'm sorry. I seem to have forgotten what I wanted to say," Hanzo said in an attempt to recover. His ears began to burn hotter with the embarrassment of having to admit something like that. What a disgrace to be unable to put one's thoughts into words.

McCree looked at Hanzo with an expression of utter shock. "Whoa, there. No need to get all flustered. You can say it once ya remember."

It seemed that Hanzo's embarrassment was causing McCree embarrassment. The cowboy's tanned cheeks became flushed and he finally put his hat back on in what appeared to be an attempt to cover it up.

"I'll give ya some time to think it over," McCree told him as he tugged the brim of his hat lower. "Just gimme a holler when yer ready."

Hanzo simply watched as the cowboy went back to his group. It had been an awkward encounter to say the least.


	4. Chapter 4

Without even realizing it, Hanzo found himself wandering toward one of the meeting places of McCree's group of buddies. And of course, they were all there, as always.

And as usual, McCree spotted Hanzo and went over to him, removing his hat in the process. "Hey, Shimada."

"McCree," the shorter man greeted.

"Why don'tcha come join us?" McCree asked, as usual.

Hanzo thought for a moment, then nodded. "I think I will."

McCree looked surprised. "Ya will?"

"I will."

Strangely McCree seemed nervous after that. "Um. Ya sure ya wanna do that?"

An odd response coming from the person who'd just invited him over. "Is there some reason I should not?"

"I don't know. Just sayin', wouldn't ya prefer to be someplace less noisy? Ya had somethin' to say to me the other day, didn't ya?" the gunman said.

Hanzo still wasn't sure how to ask about McCree's behavior around him, so he decided to avoid the question. "If you did not intend for me to join you, then why did you invite me?"

Thankfully, McCree took the bait. "Well, it'd be kinda rude not to. Besides, it's the best way I know to start a conversation with ya."

What was this weird cowboy talking about?

McCree shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go over and join in."

When they finally joined the group, everyone greeted Hanzo and then the lively, meaningless jibber jabber began again. It was no different than the other day except that they were telling different jokes. Hanzo was baffled by how energetic and animated everyone was. Everyone except himself, of course. And strangely enough, McCree no longer seemed to be participating in the conversation. He'd put his hat back on and he seemed to be looking at Hanzo from beneath the low-pulled brim.

Something about that made the bowman uncomfortable. When McCree was with the group, he was usually just as chatty as they were. Now he wasn't. The cowboy also had his hat on and it looked like he was actually staring at the archer.

"McCree, you are awfully quiet," Ziegler finally pointed out.

Hanzo could only thank her inwardly for taking McCree's attention away from him. Those eyes, the way they'd fixed on him, was unsettling.

"Sorry," McCree said. "Just thinkin' 'bout somethin'."

"Well, no thinkin' allowed. That's why we're all here, innit?" Oxton told him.

"It's what we all agreed," Lindholm chimed in.

Wait, what? Hanzo may have actually just heard a useful tidbit of information. Their conversations weren't actually meaningless at all. Well, they were, but they were meaningless on purpose. They weren't all just a bunch of brainless chatterboxes. They were all there talking about silly things and joking around to keep their minds occupied. And as Hanzo looked at the group that was gathered there, he realized that they all, each one of them, had very good reasons to keep their minds otherwise occupied. And the way they did that was to get together and laugh with each other. It was ingenious really.

"Yeah, yer right," the sharpshooter said.

And maybe that's why McCree kept inviting him over as well. So they could all 'not think'.

McCree joined in with the others once again and Hanzo quietly listened to them chat and joke about nothing.

Yet every few minutes, McCree would glance at him from underneath the brim of that hat and cause Hanzo to shift uncomfortably on his feet.


	5. Chapter 5

The architect looked at Hanzo for a long time. "How do you even understand what he says? His accent and pronunciation are abhorrent," Symmetra pointed out.

It was completely beside the point, but Hanzo had to nod in agreement. The cowboy was hard to understand even on the best of days.

"Anyway, it seems to me that you think about McCree far more than anyone should. Why are you so obsessed with this?" she asked.

Did he really think about McCree a lot? Sure, he found the gunslinger's ways interesting and he enjoyed watching him just to see what interesting thing he would do or say next. And then there was that interesting discovery about McCree's hat that may or may not be true. The cowboy's ways were...interesting.

"I noticed something else as well," Symmetra added.

Hanzo's brow quirked curiously as he waited for her to continue.

"Not only does he behave differently around you, you behave differently around him."

The bowman folded his arms. "How so?"

"You both display confidence bordering on arrogance among others, but when you are together, you both become more meek. At first I thought that there was just cultural respect there, but now it seems to me that you both have crushes."

Hanzo scoffed. "Grown men do not have 'crushes'."

It was Symmetra's turn to scoff. "If you do not appreciate my opinion, go talk to someone else."

He didn't care to talk to others. Symmetra was the closest thing he had to a friend. "That is impossible. He even expressed interest in you," Hanzo told her.

"Did he?" She'd asked as though she didn't believe him.

"He mentioned being jealous," Hanzo told her.

"Jealous of you or jealous of me?" Vaswani asked. "You said that he kept looking at you while you two were with the others. In my opinion, when he said that he was jealous, he meant that he was jealous of me because I am close to you."

"That was not what he said."

"That may have been what he meant."

"You can't make that assumption."

Symmetra rolled her eyes. "As I have already said, you are free to ask someone else his or her opinion if you have no intention of listening to mine."

"I AM listening. I simply say that you are wrong."

"Wrong? You don't even have proof one way or the other. You have no idea what is going on. He likes you. And it would appear that you like him."

Hanzo looked confused. "Explain."

"You haven't stopped talking about him for the past few days. You are in love."

"Ridiculous! This conversation is pointless and baseless. I will take my leave."

"Go ahead. But when you finally come to the realization that I am right, do NOT come begging me for advice," Symmetra told him.

Hanzo childishly stormed out of her room and went straight to his own. He wasn't even sure why the suggestion had upset him. If he knew she was wrong, he should have just brushed it off.

Then was it possible...? No. As he had said before, grown men don't have crushes and McCree had already practically told Hanzo that he was interested in Vaswani. And the archer was simply curious as to McCree's behaviors. There was no law against curiosity.

-later-

"Hey, Shimada."

It was McCree. Hanzo was a little surprised to hear his voice when this wasn't one of the places where his group usually gathered nor where he wrote poetry. And speaking of poetry, the gunman had his notebook with him. He must have been headed to his writing spot when he happened across Hanzo.

"Hello, McCree," Hanzo greeted.

"Headed to the laundry room?"

Considering Hanzo was carrying a basket full of laundry at the time, that was kind of a stupid question. But he remained polite. "Yes."

"Mind if I join ya?"

Did he want McCree to join him? After his conversation with Symmetra, he wasn't sure what to think about how often McCree approached him anymore. But what reason did he have to say no? Then again, the gunman wasn't carrying laundry, so what reason did McCree have to join him? "You may if you would like," he went ahead and told the taller man.

The two walked quietly to the laundry room and once there, the cowboy simply watched as Hanzo arranged his things. The silence was uncomfortable and having McCree watch him was equally so.

McCree must have picked up on that and he cleared his throat before he spoke. "So, the other day ya said ya had somethin' to say to me. What was it?"

Hanzo paused and thought for a moment. He remembered that day and he remembered what he wanted to talk about. He just didn't know how to word it at the time. He still didn't know how to say it.

"No one else is here if ya have somethin' to tell me," McCree said quietly.

The cowboy's hat was off, as usual, and he was simply watching him. How much more uncomfortable could things get? Hanzo frowned. He was a grown man. He could simply ask what he wanted to know. And surely McCree was mature enough to answer any questions he had.

"I would like you to be plain with me," Hanzo began.

"Gotcha," McCree said.

Admittedly, Hanzo immediately lost his nerve. Maybe he should've just left well enough alone. He didn't really have to tell McCree what he'd intended to talk to him about. As a matter of fact, Hanzo basically already had the answer he was looking for. McCree wanted them to be friends. End of story.

Yet the cowboy was patiently waiting for him to say something. The bowman guessed that he probably could have said anything and McCree would have been satisfied.

"I was wondering about your poetry," Hanzo finally said. It wasn't really a lie. It just wasn't what he'd wanted to ask him at that time. And he could see something akin to disappointment on McCree's face.

"Oh, was that all? Thought ya mighta wanted to tell me somethin'. Maybe even somethin' personal," the cowboy said. If the disappointment hadn't been obvious by the expression on his face, it was definitely obvious by the sound of his voice. But being the polite soul that he was, McCree gave a nod and answered anyway. "I like to call 'em mission poems. It's really no big deal. Just my own views on our missions with kinda like western dramaticism added in fer flavor, ya know."

The bowman looked at the gunslinger strangely. He was basically writing his own version of mission reports? Now Hanzo was even more curious. What kind of western dramaticism did he add? And why write them at all? And why as poems? The archer looked at him for a long time and he could tell that McCree had more to say. But Hanzo figured it wasn't his place to ask for more information than he'd already been given.

The gunman sighed and opened his notebook to one of the later pages. "This is the most recent one I wrote," he told Hanzo.

McCree was actually showing him what he'd written. Hanzo felt honored. He doubted that the gunman showed his work to many other people. When the bowman began reading, it seemed peculiar. The words flowed more elegantly than he expected. Not only that, but the main character of this particular poem was quite obviously an archer. He looked up at the cowboy.

"I was watchin' ya on our last few missions. I gotta admit, seein' ya in action was pretty impressive," McCree said, putting on his hat once again. He tugged the brim down, but not before Hanzo spotted the slight flushing of his cheeks.

Hanzo was once again honored, but it wasn't because McCree thought his bowmanship was impressive. He'd always known that his skills left those around him in awe. He was honored because the cowboy had written about him in a way that he'd never really seen himself. Not as a man seeking redemption for his questionable past, but as a hero, righting wrongs simply for the sake of doing what was right. McCree portrayed him as an upright-standing, graceful and beautiful lawbringer. He wasn't sure how upright-standing or beautiful he was, but he'd always been aware of his own gracefulness.

The cowboy interrupted his thoughts by clearing his throat again and saying, "There's a few more in there with you in 'em."

"If this is the way you see me, you are in for the disappointment of your life," Hanzo said with a chuckle.

McCree chuckled as well. "Nah. That ain't how I see ya. It's just my westernized version of ya."

If that were the case, he wondered how McCree actually saw him. "The one I read is very good. May I read the rest?"

Panic was evident on McCree's face. "Uh, ya don't wanna do that," he said slowly.

Hanzo raised his eyebrows and looked at the notebook that was still in his hands. "Why not?"

"Alright, I'll be honest with ya, but you gotta promise not to laugh," McCree said, tugging the brim of his hat down even lower to cover his face.

"I promise."

"Well, when I said that there's a few more in there with you in 'em, I mighta been underplayin' it a little. And by a little, I mean that all of 'em are about you," the gunman went on.

Hanzo narrowed his eyes in confusion and stared at the notebook. The most recent poem that was in there was nearly at the end of the notebook. Then, the entire notebook was filled with poems starring him?


	6. Chapter 6

McCree had written him as upright-standing and graceful and beautiful, but then the cowboy said that he didn't really see Hanzo that way. The 'Hanzo' McCree had written about was just a 'westernized' version of him. So, then, where was the line between what McCree really thought of him and what he'd made up for his poems?

Why did he even care?

It all started with the archer's theory about McCree's hat. If he hadn't been so curious about the way McCree behaved when he wasn't wearing his hat, none of this would have happened. Vaswani wouldn't have come up with her ridiculous crush theories and Hanzo wouldn't have been left questioning whether she was right or wrong.

Now any time he was near the gunslinger, he grew nervous and anxious and he wasn't even sure why.

And there was no way to avoid the cowboy anymore. Instead of waiting until the archer showed up in the vicinity of the group that always got together, the gunman actively sought him out. As a matter of fact, he was at Hanzo's bedroom door right now.

"Sorry to bother ya, but I thought maybe we could talk," McCree said through the door.

The bowman wasn't sure what to do. For some reason he didn't want to be alone with the man. He wasn't really sure why though. There was no reason for him to be afraid to be alone with him. Perhaps it wasn't fear. Perhaps it was what Vaswani had mentioned. He didn't really want to think about it.

Yet he WAS thinking about it. What if she had been right about their so-called crushes? Well, at least on the gunman's end. Then Hanzo wasn't sure if he wanted to be alone with McCree in case the gunslinger wanted to say something about it. And if she were right concerning his own feelings? Well, it would be just as bad to be alone with McCree because of what he himself might say.

It was a lose/lose situation. That is, unless she was wrong in both instances. How could Hanzo even question his own feelings? He knew what he felt and it wasn't what she said it was. Yet when he heard that voice through the door, his heart began to race.

Did he have a reason to say no to him though? The gunslinger had graciously allowed him to read his notebook full of poetry, which was still on his dresser. Even if the archer were doing something besides attempting to meditate, there was no reason for him to rudely leave the door closed.

Hanzo finally opened the door and silently noted the power of suggestion. If Symmetra hadn't mentioned her weird theory about his and McCree's feelings, Hanzo never would have considered it a possibility on either of their parts.

The smile on the gunman's face stunned him, so he simply greeted the cowboy with a nod.

"Hey there," McCree said. "Hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"No. I was only meditating." That wasn't entirely true though. "Please come in."

McCree looked like he didn't want to enter at first, but he took a step inside anyway, fiddling with the hat in his hands. "Never really been in nobody's room here besides mine. This is pretty nice."

"Please have a seat," the archer offered. It was the polite thing to do, right?

"Thank ya kindly."

The bowman watched him take a seat in the only chair in the room, so he sat on the bed. Hanzo wondered if maybe it was too casual. He really should have had more furniture. Symmetra had a few chairs scattered about her room, even though she claimed that she rarely had company.

He, too, rarely had company, but that was obviously no excuse to have only one place to sit.

While his mind was otherwise occupied, McCree simply watched him. And even though his mind WAS otherwise occupied, he could see the fact that the gunman was watching him.

"You wanted to talk?" the archer asked.

"Uh, yeah. Ya seem like ya've been avoidin' me lately. I'm thinkin' maybe it's somethin' I said."

Hanzo couldn't recall if the cowboy had said anything that might have caused offense. Then again everyone was offended by everything these days. "You have said nothing wrong."

"So, ya HAVE been avoidin' me?"

Ah. Hanzo had been caught unawares. He'd been outmaneuvered by this poetic cowboy. "I have been avoiding you," he had to admit, considering the cowboy had already called him out on it.

There came one very simple question. "Why?"

However, the answering of it would prove difficult. Had he never given thought to the architect's suggestion, he wouldn't have to hold a self debate as to what his answer should be.

And it wasn't as though he hadn't been thinking it over this whole time. Unfortunately, in the presence of the man, things seemed to grow more complicated.

So he finally decided to come clean. No more theories and no more advice from third parties.

"Why do you behave differently with me than with others?"

The cowboy gave half a smile of half embarrassment. "Noticed that, huh?"

Thankfully McCree seemed to accept a question as an answer.

"I gotta admit that I hold ya to a higher standard than I do most everybody else."

So, the cowboy held him to a higher standard than others. It only made sense. Everyone who knew Hanzo held him to a higher standard than most others.

"And I think yer funny," the gunman added.

Funny? So was he something to laugh at now? That was a contradiction to what the gunslinger had said just a moment ago.

"I don't understand your meaning," Hanzo admitted.

The way he'd said it must have made it obvious that he was offended. McCree raised his hands in defense. "Didn't mean nothin by it. It's just that I ain't never met nobody I was so curious about."

Exactly! The gunman had taken the words right out of his mouth. He was curious about the cowboy and the cowboy was curious about him. And it was perfectly natural. Neither one of them knew much about the other's culture, which confirmed Vaswani's earlier suspicions. And they knew very little about each other in general, which explained why the gunman was always trying to hunt him down.

So then why did Hanzo still feel so unsatisfied with that answer?

"And here I am followin' ya around like a lost puppy. It musta been pretty obvious," the cowboy said with a little chuckle.

Pretty obvious?

McCree looked at the archer for a long time but didn't say anything.

Hanzo figured he'd go ahead and ask what he wanted to know. That's what he'd decided, was it not? "What do you mean?"

The gunman chuckled again. "Well, maybe it ain't so obvious."

"Not obvious to me. What are you talking about?"

"That I kinda like ya."

Hanzo frowned and before he considered what that statement meant, he thought about the fact that the architect was right and he was wrong.

Then he had to wonder what the cowboy meant by 'kinda'. And what he meant by 'like'. And how that combination of words added up.


	7. Chapter 7

Hanzo narrowed his eyes in an attempt to clearly consider what 'kinda like' might actually mean. The word 'kinda' was, of course, McCree's pronunciation of the phrase 'kind of'. Now, as far as the phrase 'kind of' went, it was more of an estimation than something exact. While 'like' was simply a word expressing...fondness maybe?

"Ya look kinda confused there. It's exactly what it sounds like. So if yer okay with that, I hope ya wouldn't mind spendin' a little more time with me."

He didn't really have a problem with it (whatever IT was). He just didn't understand what was going on or why. To be honest, Hanzo didn't like himself very much and it made him wonder why anyone else would.

He then noticed that the cowboy had put his hat back on and had tugged the brim down low. "Sorry. Guess I shouldn'a brought it up."

Well, Hanzo didn't want him to feel bad about it. "No, I'm sorry. I was just...surprised."

Oh no. The archer suddenly felt shy. How could this be happening?

He wasn't going to blush like a school girl. He was a grown man and therefore beyond such things. But even as he fought against it, he could feel his face and ears beginning to warm. He tried concentrating on his hands to rid himself of the redness that he knew tented his face by now.

But he could feel the cowboy's eyes on him, so he glanced at him to find a huge grin on his face.

"Cute," was all McCree said.

The archer quickly went back to staring at his hands, but he could feel his face burn hotter with embarrassment. He wanted to say something, but what should one say in a situation like that? Thank him for the compliment? Take it as a degrading comment? He wasn't a child after all. Children were considered cute. Then again, he was blushing like a grade schooler with his first crush.

He frowned. Crush, huh? Well, since the architect seemed to be right about the gunman's crush on him, maybe....

Was he really entertaining the thought that he might have a crush on this scruffy-looking gunslinger?

"Nothin' to say, huh?"

What could he say?

"It's alright. I wouldn't know what to say if some guy I barely knew came up to me sayin that he liked me either. Ya ain't gotta say nothin'."

"No, that's not it," Hanzo said before he could stop himself. "I am flattered."

"Okay. Yer flattered, but...?"

"There is no but."

The gunman looked confused. "So yer not weirded out that a guy likes ya?"

"Anyone is free to admire whomever he chooses."

"Well, I ain't just talkin about admirin' ya, but if that's the way ya wanna see it, then that's fine too."

Of course he wasn't talking about admiring him.

"So, what say we just continue our nice normal friendship. Then we can see where things go from there," McCree suggested.

Ah, a very mature way to go about things. They were definitely not grade school children with crushes.

"That sounds reasonable. Thank you," he said to the gunman.

"I should be the one thankin' you. Yer the one who didn't punch me in the face fer sayin' somethin' like that outta the blue."

Hanzo gave a small smile, then walked over to his dresser and picked up the notebook of poetry McCree had let him borrow. "I have been meaning to return this."

Sure. He'd been meaning to return it, but he couldn't work up the nerve to do it to be honest.

The cowboy looked confused. "Read the whole thing already?"

Hanzo nodded and took a seat on his bed again. "It was interesting and well written."

"Glad ya liked em. Also glad ya didn't freak out about me writin' about ya."

There was no real reason to freak out. It was flattering to be written about, even though the character the cowboy had written about wasn't really him. So honestly, should he be flattered or insulted?

"Why me?" Hanzo asked.

"Uh, cause there ain't enough westerns with main characters whose weapon of choice is a bow?"

Why was it a question?

There was a long silence between them and Hanzo started to get a little worried. McCree's eyes had fixed on him from beneath the brim of that confounded hat of his. Wasn't the cowboy going to say anything? Hanzo wasn't really sure if he himself should say something since it was McCree who'd come to talk.

"So, how far can I take things before your feathers start to ruffle?" McCree asked.

That was an odd question. "Excuse me?"

"Well, ya let me write poetry about ya and ya found out that I like ya and yer still sittin' there like nothin's happened. Figured I'd test the waters a little more."

Wha—?

The gunman walked over to Hanzo and took a seat next to him on the bed. McCree just smiled like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Having him sit so close startled the archer, but he tried his best to remain as cool as a cucumber. He just hoped that the cowboy couldn't hear his heart racing. Then again with how close he was, Hanzo wouldn't be surprised if he could.

McCree then placed his hand on Hanzo's lower back.

"Hope this makes things more clear fer ya. Rufflin' those feathers yet?"

Yep. Hanzo's feathers were well ruffled now. And there wasn't anything he could do or say. "Y-yes," he admitted.

The cowboy looked at him for a long time and he quickly removed his hand from Hanzo's back. "Sorry. I was just kiddin' around."

He couldn't bring himself to meet the cowboy's eyes, which he could feel were still locked to his face. He wanted to move a little futher away so he could have room to breathe, but if he did that wouldn't the cowboy be offended? He didn't dislike the closeness after all. It was just that the sudden touch had been somewhat startling.

"It's kinda hard to take my eyes off ya though," the gunman said quietly.

Hanzo felt a blush creeping up again and he quickly stood up. "Sorry. I just remembered that I have someplace to be," he said in a bit of a panic.

McCree stood as well. "Sorry. Didn't mean to hold ya up. Hey, I could walk ya half way."

McCree didn't even know where he was going. "No, thank you," Hanzo told him.

"No, I insist. I came to yer room and kept ya from meditatin'. It's the least I could do."

\--------------

After some argument, the cowboy ended up walking with him anyway. Thankfully they reached the gunman's destination before they reached his own.

After exchanging polite goodbyes, Hanzo hurried to Vaswani's door and stood there for a while. She'd told him not to come begging her for advice but she couldn't have been serious, could she?

"Let me guess. You found out that he likes you and you need advice?"

"You and I ended on a sour note when last we saw each other, but we should not let that get the better of us," he said in an attempt to reconstruct burned bridges.

"Just tell me the truth, Shimada. You need my advice."

Okay, technically he didn't need her advice. She wasn't the greatest person to get relationship advice from, considering she was just as single as he. But he wouldn't bring that to her attention. What he really wanted was someone he could bounce ideas off of.

"Yes. I need your advice," he said simply to avoid further argument.

"Fine. Were I not a good friend, I would leave you high and dry."

"You honor me."

"Now, what happened?"

After a grueling telling, they both sat quietly for a moment. Then she finally said, "To be honest, I was bluffing, but I guess he really does like you." When she said it she seemed amused.

"What?" he asked.

She chuckled even more. "You don't even realize it, do you?"

He looked confused.

"You are blushing. You have been since you began."

Well, if he hadn't been before he sure was now.

"That is just too cute."

It was the second time that day that word had been used in his presence. He didn't like that.

"Listen, Shimada. You could sit here asking for my advice or you could do what you should have done when he cornered you in your room. Tell him you like him too."

"Tell him what?"

"That you like him. It is embarrassingly obvious," she told him.

Was it obvious? Was it even true?

"You know I am right."

As much as he didn't want to admit it, she had been right about the gunman's feelings for him. But to say that the archer returned those feelings was a longshot. Sure, he was interested in getting to know the strange man....

"And you are blushing again," she told him.

This was ridiculous.

"You know, the sooner you tell him, the better."

"I do not like him. Not in that way."

Symmetra grinned and shook her head. "You say that, but your face tells a very different story."

They argued the point and the archer refused to acknowledge that he had been considering that he might feel the same way about the gunslinger.

She warned him again that he would feel better if he confessed sooner rather than later, but he would have none of it. He went on his way back to his room.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been several days since the archer last spoke to the man. He was a little surprised since he usually saw McCree four or more times a day in passing. He wondered if things were okay between them. The gunman had told him how he felt yet the archer had never really even acknowledged it.

Should he seek out McCree? Should he be worried that he hadn't seen the man since that day? Was it possible that McCree was just avoiding him? Why did the archer even care? It wasn't like they were very close in the first place. But then after seeing him every single day the archer began to wonder if maybe something was wrong. Maybe he'd offended McCree somehow. His reactions to the cowboy's advances had been lukewarm at best.

Well, they may have appeared lukewarm on the outside. On the inside was a completely different story. His heart had raced and his temperature had risen significantly. He'd even felt a stirring that he wasn't really comfortable acknowledging.

As a matter of fact, he was becoming breathless thinking about it right now.

NO! This wasn't happening!

Hanzo took a deep breath to calm himself. This was all much simpler than he was making it. What he really needed to do was go to the man and find out what was wrong.

\---------------

The archer knocked on the McCree's door and was a little surprised to see that he was there.

A huge grin appeared on the cowboy's face. "Had a feelin' it was you. Long time no see."

So, apparently there really was nothing wrong. Well, aside from the fact that the man's smile nearly floored him.

"Hello," was all Hanzo could say at the moment.

"Hey," seemed to be the only thing McCree could say.

The two just stood there like idiots for a while.

"Sorry. Come in," McCree finally said.

Hanzo only walked far enough into the room for McCree to shut the door behind him. He was beginning to wish he'd brought along something that could keep his hands occupied, but since he hadn't, he folded his arms and simply stood there. Upon glancing about McCree's room, he noted that the gunman only had one chair, much like his own room.

"What brings ya by?" McCree asked.

Ah. The bowman had almost forgotten why he was there. And he already knew that the easiest way to get something out of the cowboy was to be straight forward. "Have you been avoiding me?" It was like de ja vu. Not that long ago McCree had asked him the same thing.

"Yeah, I have."

How blunt these Americans could be.

"I didn't wanna pressure ya. Wanted to give ya some time to think about everything that's been happenin'. And I didn't wanna seem too pushy."

Well, he could have at least allowed himself to be seen. What had he done? Hide in his room for the past few days? Hanzo had searched high and low for the cowboy, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of him. He'd tried to find McCree in his usual group of jokesters, but he'd been in none of their usual hangouts. Hanzo had even tried to find him in his 'poetry corner' outside. The only place he hadn't checked was his room.

Okay, so Hanzo had needed time to process everything, but that didn't mean that the cowboy should disappear completely.

"I see," was all Hanzo said.

"Did ya think about what I told ya?"

That McCree 'kinda' liked him. It was all that had been on his mind for the past few days. "Yes," Hanzo told him.

"Good. Anyway, I'm hopin' ya'd like to maybe hang out with me. I know we don't know that much about each other, so I figured we could start. Gettin' to know each other, that is."

"I thought that was what we were doing. The whole 'friends' thing," Hanzo said.

Why was he being this way? Hanzo knew he'd been thinking about this since they met in his room. Why couldn't he just be straight forward like he was with his questions?

"Ain't you a sassy little thing. And here I thought you were all noble and sophisticated. I think I kinda like that side of ya."

There was that phrase 'kinda like' again. Hanzo really wanted to clear that up, but he wasn't sure how. He could just ask the cowboy what he meant. That straight forward approach seemed to work well. But when it came to asking something like that, he was much too embarrassed.

"Well, ain't ya gonna sit down? Let's talk," McCree said.

Hanzo wordlessly took a seat on the lone chair in the room while McCree sat on the bed. What did he want to talk about, Hanzo wondered. The bowman didn't really want to talk about the past. That was one of the things he hated most. He just couldn't do it. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he could simply hand out the details of his checkered past at a time like this.

"What's yer favorite color?" McCree asked.

Was this guy for real?

The archer answered anyway. "I suppose it depends on the day."

"I like that. That's a really cool answer," McCree said with a nod. "Mine's red."

The cowboy really was serious. But it was nice that he was keeping things simple.

"Do ya like music?"

Hanzo raised his eyebrows. Who didn't like music? But it was still nice and simple and he could appreciate that. "I do."

"Are ya as open to music as ya are to colors?"

"I...like classical music."

McCree nodded again. "That's kinda romantic. Well, maybe we can teach each other about the music we like. I like country and western."

Hanzo shook his head. "No, thank you. I don't care for country."

The taller man frowned. "Really? Not even the original stuff? I mean, I know that the more recent stuff takes some gettin' used to, but a lot of the stuff from way, way back was like listenin' to a western. Ya seem to like westerns, considerin' ya liked my poems."

"I suppose...."

"Great! Then that's settled. I'll teach you about the country and western classics and you'll teach me about classical in general."

Hanzo frowned. McCree was asking all the questions. He wondered if it made him seem disinterested.

"Like any sports? Of course ya do. Archery. But do ya like anything else?"

"I enjoy swimming and boating."

"Cool. I like swimmin' too. Ya can teach me the rest. And I can teach ya about basketball and billiards."

As McCree was thinking, Hanzo finally worked up the nerve to ask a question. "Have you been with a man before?"

Well, so much for keeping things nice and simple. This would definitely disrupt their easygoing mood. And he'd been the one who didn't want to bring up the past.

McCree looked a little surprised.

To be honest, Hanzo was surprised that he chose to ask that kind of question as well. "I only ask because you say you like me, yet you seem like more of a... 'ladies' man'."

The cowboy grinned. "Well, that sounded a lot like a compliment. Thank ya. But yeah, I been with a few men in my day."

And of course, McCree was waiting for him to answer the question. Hanzo had never been with a man before. But some of his female companions had brought out curiosities in him. They'd talked him into letting them use toys. That, of course, didn't count. Besides, it was a long time ago. Short answer: "I have not."

"So, mind if I ask if yer thinkin' about bein' with a man now?"

Hanzo blushed. He had asked the question in hopes of getting information out of McCree. But it looked like he'd left himself open to have McCree get information out of him.

"I...had never thought about it. No man has ever been interested in me until now," the archer told him.

"I kinda find that hard to believe."

Hanzo felt his face and ears become hotter still and he started hating himself for asking the question.

"Sorry. I don't wanna pressure ya," McCree said, looking away. "I just got a li'l excited that ya might be considerin'...bein' with me."

The archer saw a faint blush staining McCree's cheeks as well and the cowboy seemed to be staring longingly at his hat, which was across the room on a hat rack. Maybe he wished that he was wearing it so he could hide his face.

Hanzo had never answered McCree's question, though. Was the bowman thinking about being with a man now? "I...," was all Hanzo could say.

"Sorry," McCree said again. "Guess I am kinda pressurin' ya. Want me to leave?"

"McCree, we are in YOUR room," Hanzo said, looking at the cowboy strangely.

"Oh, yeah. Well, if ya wanna leave, I understand."

Hanzo stared at the taller man, amazed by how flustered he was. If Hanzo were to leave now, wouldn't that leave a bad impression? He didn't want McCree to feel bad, even though it was Hanzo who'd brought up the subject. "If you will allow me to stay, I would like to stay."

McCree looked at Hanzo, surprise apparent on his face. "You really wanna stay?"

The archer nodded. "We can talk more."

McCree smiled. "Okay."

Sure, Hanzo enjoyed quiet. Sure, he would have saved himself a lot of embarrassment if he returned to his solitude. But there was something about being there with the gunman that he...liked.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day Hanzo found himself wandering around the base in what could only be considered a stupor. Thankfully, the things he and McCree had talked about yesterday went back to being much more manageable after Hanzo had asked his question. He simply let the gunslinger ask all the questions.

So, McCree had indeed been with other men. The archer began to wonder when and who. But that was really none of his business. Even if he could summon the courage to ask the cowboy about the encounters, what good would it do? It was all in the past.

Unfortunately, Hanzo couldn't help being just a little bit curious about the man's past.

The bowman heard his name being called and he finally stopped in his tracks. It was McCree. Hanzo had unconsciously meandered over to where the cowboy's joking group gathered.

"Hey there. Care to join us?"

Hanzo froze. It had been a simple enough question. So why wasn't it simple to answer? Was it because he had other things on his mind? Was it simply because he hadn't expected to see the cowboy at that moment?

Hanzo knew that he was simply standing there staring at the man, yet he couldn't seem to formulate a response to the question.

"You okay?" McCree asked.

No. He wasn't okay. He was turning into an idiot.

He'd always had so much self control. Everything he did and said was calculated and then executed with the utmost grace and dignity. Well, almost everything.

What had become of him now? He was standing in a place he had no idea he'd gone to. He was standing wordlessly like a slackjawed numbskull in front of this guy that he'd told Symmetra he didn't like in that way.

Well, with the way he was behaving, he couldn't help thinking that maybe he did like him in that way.

The cowboy had even been saying something to him that he hadn't really heard.

"Well, ya just gonna stand there or are ya comin' over?"

Hanzo nodded, which wasn't really the type of answer that particular question required. Then again he could just use the excuse that he was answering his initial question. In that case his answer made a lot more sense.

Was he really trying to make excuses for his own idiocy? How pathetic.

The conversation was as lively as ever. They were all being silly and they were trying to get Hanzo to be silly with them. Unfortunately, he couldn't conjure the will to joke with them even if he knew any.

"Hey!" Oxton said to the bowman, waving a hand in front of his face. "If you're gonna be over here, you're not allowed to think."

It seemed that little outburst caused the whole group to focus their attention on him.

"She's right, ya know," McCree said. "The whole reason we're here is to put the worries of the world aside for a while and just relax."

"Don't let your past weigh on your shoulders every minute of the day," Lindholm added.

"Ugh! Just talking about thinking is giving me a headache," Oxton said. She went on to talking about some other random thing, probably something online.

Hanzo smiled to himself. These people really were concerned about his state of mind. It was nice.

And when he looked over at McCree, the gunslinger was watching him from beneath the brim of that hat.

\---------------

After that increasingly animated discussion, Hanzo decided that he needed a little quiet time. Yet when he started walking away, McCree was following him.

"I think you should hang out with us more often," the gunman said.

Hanzo nodded. Maybe he should stop spending so much time alone with his thoughts.

"Mind if I ask where yer headed?"

"To my room."

"Mind if I walk ya there?"

Well, Hanzo didn't see the harm in it. He nodded again and he and McCree quietly made their way down the hall.

Hanzo could see him out of the corner of his eye. The hat was pulled down low, but he knew the cowboy was looking at him.

"Is something wrong?" Hanzo finally asked. The man had been looking at him all day, after all.

Out came a low chuckle and Hanzo was caught off guard by how...nice it sounded.

"Nothin's wrong. I just been thinkin' about how ya never really gave me any thoughts on how I feel about ya."

McCree had also said that he didn't want to pressure the archer. Though it had been quite a few days since that initial confession.

Hanzo opened his room door and expected a goodbye from the man, even though McCree was in the middle of a conversation.

"Mind if I come in? I just wanna talk to ya fer a minute."

Well, who was he to say no? He stepped aside and let the cowboy in before closing the door behind them.

"I also thought about that question ya asked me the other day. About whether I ever been with a man. And that really stood out in my mind fer a long time. I don't wanna put words in yer mouth, but it sounds to me like yer interested."

Again Hanzo's face warmed before he could try to put a stop to it. Is that what McCree had been thinking?

"I was curious," Hanzo said, avoiding the gunman's eye. He felt the cowboy drawing nearer and he took a step back on instinct.

"I always thought you were one of those loner types. But it looks like yer just shy."

Was McCree getting closer? Hanzo took another step back just in case. "I am not shy."

Without realizing it, McCree had gotten close enough to him to put his arms around him. A hug. A long, quiet hug. But why?

....

Hanzo frowned when he realized that he was unable to think straight. Wasn't he supposed to be saying something?

"So, what did ya think when I told ya I'd been with men before?" McCree asked.

Hanzo blushed again and frowned. This guy was still hugging him. Why wouldn't he let go?

What had Hanzo thought at that moment? He remembered thinking about his own past experiences.

"I thought about the fact that I had never been with a man before."

"And what did ya think about the fact that I had?"

Maybe McCree had no intention of letting go. It was awkward to say the least.

"Take yer time. I can stay like this all day."

Was that some kind of threat? He didn't really think much of the fact that McCree had been with men before. Well, the first thing he'd though about was sex, of course. But that was the purpose of the question, wasn't it? A question that he himself had asked. Oh, no! His mind had immediately gone to sex while he was talking to the cowboy.

Hanzo buried his face in McCree's shoulder, too embarrassed to look at him. "I was curious," he said again, his voice half muffled.

"Curious about what?" McCree whispered.

Well, for a guy who didn't want to put any pressure on him, the gunman sure was doing a good job of it now. Things were getting way too uncomfortable for Hanzo now. All these questions and this eternal hug. "Why are you still hugging me?" he finally asked.

"Cause I can't look at ya while I'm talkin' to ya about this stuff," McCree said with a chuckle.

Really? So, did that mean that this cowboy, even with his trusty hat, was the one who was shy? Hanzo couldn't help thinking that was somewhat cute.

"Now, you answer my question," McCree said.

Hanzo shuttered when the gunman's breath tickled the top of his ear. He didn't really have an answer for him. He wasn't really sure what he'd been curious about. Just that he was curious. So he remained quiet.

"Were ya wonderin' what I let those men do to me?" McCree asked quietly.

Okay, this had gone on long enough. Hanzo wriggled his way out of McCree's arms and immediately went to his room door so he could open it for the cowboy. "Please excuse yourself. I have work to do." His voice was much weaker and unsteady than he'd expected.

McCree tugged the brim of his hat down over his face, but not before Hanzo saw how red it was. "Yeah. Sorry. I should get goin'."

Hanzo was a little surprised that there was no argument. And as he watched McCree leave, he had to wonder what the gunslinger had let those men do to him.


	10. Chapter 10

Hanzo decided that he would never show his face around the base again. That would be fine. He could easily get a mercenary job—something a little more freelance—and move into a place of his own. A nice, quiet apartment. Upper floor. No one he knew within a hundred miles. He could quietly go about his day and quietly return home where he could quietly meditate. And he would never have to see or think about the cowboy again.

Yet when he told Symmetra his plan, she laughed in his face. "You are more of a coward than I thought," the architect told him. "And it's all because you don't want to say those three little words. Go ahead and say it. You need the practice."

He was being laughed at once again. What kind of friend was she? "I will not say something like that. Especially to him."

"Not even if it is true? Because it is," Symmetra said. "I'm having a hard time understanding what the problem is, Shimada. The difficult part is already over. You know that he likes you."

"That's not the point," Hanzo told her with a frown. "I am not sure how to explain it.... I have never...." He struggled to find what he wanted to say.

"Never what? Been in love? Well, get over it because you are now."

"I would not say that I am in love."

"Then you admit that you DO like him?" Vaswani asked.

Hanzo knew he was blushing, so he turned away from her. "We had a very disturbing interaction recently. I cannot face him ever again."

"Your definition of 'disturbing interaction' is questionable. You have claimed that every interaction you have with McCree is disturbing in one way or another," Vaswani reminded him.

He should have known better than to talk to her about this. She had no idea how complicated his situation was. During a purely innocent question and answer session, Hanzo had asked McCree a very personal question that was sexual in nature.

The cowboy had said before that he held Hanzo to a higher standard than others, but did he feel the same way after he'd asked that question?

"I can no longer face him. I have shamed myself," Hanzo maintained.

"You are overreacting," the architect said. "And you would not be overreacting like this if you didn't like him."

Hanzo frowned. He'd been considering that he might actually like the cowboy for a while, but that one little statement from Symmetra really opened his eyes. He wouldn't be putting so much thought into it if he didn't have feelings for the man. Hanzo wouldn't feel as if his whole world were collapsing around him if he weren't at least a little interested in him. The archer did have feelings for the gunman and those feelings went beyond friendship. But if it was so obvious to Vaswani, who else was able to see it?

Well, his main concern wasn't other people. Hanzo wondered if McCree himself could see it.

\---------------

Hanzo spotted McCree sitting outside writing in his notebook. The archer thought about turning around and walking away. He was still a little nervous about facing the cowboy after making a fool of himself the other day. He never should have asked if McCree had been with men before. But it was already done and now he had to live with the consequences.

The bowman hadn't seen or spoken to McCree since the day the cowboy decided to hug him. Hanzo thought about calling out his name to get his attention, but instead, he just stood there and watched the cowboy write. It was as if McCree were in his own little world. Well, in a way he was. But just watching him concentrate like that on something he only did for fun was pretty fascinating. Maybe this was his form of meditation. Maybe this was another way for him to keep his mind preoccupied. If so, it was a pretty good way to do it.

Hanzo finally called out McCree's name and he watched as that look of concentration transformed into what could only be described as joy. The smile on the gunman's face made Hanzo smile a little. But it was short-lived, however. The archer had interrupted McCree, but he didn't really remember why.

"Hey, Shimada," McCree said, a little more enthusiastically than Hanzo expected.

The cowboy waved him over and Hanzo wordlessly sat across from him.

"There's this thing I'd like ya to read. I was just puttin' some finishin' touches on it," McCree told him.

Hanzo noticed that McCree had the brim of his hat pulled down to cover his face. The gunslinger pushed the notebook toward him and Hanzo started flipping through it.

"It's the last one that'll go in that notebook. I hope ya like it."

"Before I read it, there is something I would like to ask," Hanzo said, fingering the pages of the notebook.

McCree finally looked at him from beneath the brim of his hat. "What is it?"

Hanzo only looked at him for a moment before he went back to staring blankly at the notebook and fiddling with its pages. "You said that the way you write my character in your poems.... Well, you said that you don't see me that way."

"I see what yer gettin' at," McCree said. "The Hanzo I write is kinda cold and he doesn't put a whole lot of thought into the stuff he does. He just kinda does what he does, no questions asked. Things are either one way or another. Right or wrong. Good or bad. Ain't much of a gray area with him." He tipped the brim of his hat back down to cover his face once again. "Yer different. Ya seem to think things over a lot. When we're out on a mission, I can see ya weighin' yer options even in the middle of a firefight. It's amazin' to watch."

Hanzo looked confused. That only meant that the cowboy could see him hesitating. That wasn't a good thing.

"Besides, that Hanzo never misses. I've seen you miss a couple of times," McCree said, a little bit of a laugh on his voice. "You should see yer face when that happens."

So, the Hanzo McCree wrote about was basically perfect while the real life Hanzo had flaws. Of course he had flaws, but he wished that McCree didn't have to point them out. His bow accuracy was well above even those who called themselves professionals. There was no shame in missing a shot here and there.

"Not to mention that he's not shy, but you are," the gunman added.

"I am not shy," Hanzo told him yet again.

"Ya are compared to him. Just read that last poem," McCree said.

There was no need for further argument. Hanzo decided that he should just read the poem. As he was reading, he would glance up every now and then to see if McCree was watching him but he couldn't see anything under the brim of that cowboy hat.

And Hanzo found out why McCree made the claim that he was shy and the Hanzo in his poems was not. The poem was less of a western than the ones that came before it. It was actually kind of a romance and it also featured McCree. It basically replayed the few days up until McCree told Hanzo that he liked him, but with one major difference. Once McCree told Hanzo that he liked him, the Hanzo in the poem had kissed him.

Hanzo quickly closed the notebook, his face tinted pink with embarrassment. He couldn't bring himself to look at the gunslinger. Did McCree think that was what should have happened? Did he think that was what Hanzo wanted to do?

"Yeah, yer too shy to do somethin' like that," McCree said, his hat still pulled low.

The archer knew that McCree was just goading him. To be honest, he hadn't really thought much about kissing the cowboy. Then again, after his chat with Symmetra, he found out that he must have felt something more than friendship for the gunman. And if that were the case, then kissing would surely follow.

He glanced at McCree and found that he was finally looking at him.

"There's that thoughtful look. Weighin' those—" McCree began with a chuckle.

The cowboy wasn't able to finish his statement before Hanzo quickly leaned across the table and kissed him on the lips. It wasn't for long and he'd almost missed, but Hanzo was pretty sure that he'd gotten his point across. "I am not shy," he said quietly as he sat back down.

McCree licked his lips and grinned. "Well, I guess ya ain't."

They sat there quietly for a while and Hanzo wondered if he'd done the right thing.

Suddenly McCree stood and walked over to take a seat right beside Hanzo. "Alright. Ya convinced me. I'll let ya make out with me." He leaned in close and puckered up for another kiss.

Hanzo thought about going along with it, but instead he put notebook between their faces. "Why did I have to be the one to kiss you? Why did you not kiss me?"

McCree moved the notebook out of the way. "Cause I already told ya how I felt. You seem to have trouble with yer words, so I thought this would be easier fer ya."

The archer narrowed his eyes at McCree.

"Besides, I'm shy. I couldn't do somethin' so embarrassin'," McCree added with a grin.

\---------------------

epilogue—three weeks later....

"I hope ya don't expect me to remember the names of all this stuff. They all got the same title," McCree said as they listened to their third piece of classical music. "What's this one again?"

"Canon in D major. It is a piece by Johann Pachelbel," Hanzo told him. "Surely you have heard it before."

McCree nodded. "Never knew the name of it, though." He moved closer to Hanzo and grinned. "Seems I remember folks used this song at weddin's." He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively and put his arms around the shorter man. "Somethin' ya wanna ask me?"

Hanzo sighed and rolled his eyes. "It was also played for funerals."

"Hm," the cowboy said, sounding a little disappointed. He kept his arms around the archer anyway. "Yer not plannin' some elaborate proposal, then."

Hanzo chuckled to himself. "Perhaps I am planning an elaborate funeral. I am taking you boating tomorrow, after all."

"Not funny."


End file.
